The Deceitful One

Transcendents of the Death Path had an exceptional affinity toward the dead and the spirits. They could create zombies and have spirits fight for them.

They were highly adept at necromancy and due to their affinity, they could even communicate with spirits.

Bryan finally understood why Andrew acted so calmly in the cemetery. The cemetery or any other place of death was like home to him. He was like a fish in water.

Then he thought of something strange and asked him, "Why is it that the Transcendents from the Church of Wisdom are so diverse?

Before joining the Silver Owls, I always thought that everyone from the Church would either be a Wisdom or Fate Path Transcendent."

Andrew smiled faintly, "That is because the meditation technique of the Wisdom Path is compatible with all the other Paths."

Bryan thought that this made sense. Back when he started studying mysticism under Detective Watson, the latter had mentioned that all existing meditation techniques of other Paths had been derived from the meditation technique of the Wisdom Path.

He then added, "If this is so, then doesn't that mean the Church of the Wisdom is the strongest of all the Churches?"

Andrew shook his head, "It is hard to determine who is the strongest just based on the different Paths that a Church has. At the end of the day, it is not the Path that is strong but the Transcendent."

Bryan nodded his head. He completely agreed with Andrew on this point. A weak person cultivating a strong Path would most likely die at the hands of a strong person cultivating a weak Path.

"However, the Church of Wisdom is definitely one of the strongest in this world. It is the oldest Church in existence and has a very deep background, after all.

The Church is feared not just because of the different Paths it is in control of but also because of the existence of Wisdom Path Transcendents." Andrew added.

He gave Bryan a few moments to digest the information and continued, "You already know how scheming Wisdom Path Transcendents are, they are the greatest of tacticians.

Whereas, Fate Path Transcendents are also slightly similar to the former. They excel at divination and know the most probable future like the back of their hands. This is why others very rarely try to come in conflict with the Church of Wisdom."

Bryan truly felt glad that he was given the opportunity to join the Church of Wisdom. Strong backing would help a person go a long way.

The duo proceeded to walk further into the depths of the cemetery. Bryan was now slightly relieved knowing Andrew was a Death Path Transcendent. Should they come under attack by any evil spirits, Andrew could easily take care of them.

Piecing all the information together, Bryan now had an idea about why they were there. He looked at Andrew and probed, "So are we here to deal with the evil spirits?"

"Yes," Andrew nodded, "But not just evil spirits. There are also spirits who do not mean harm to the living. They're quite nice to talk to, actually."

"Oh? So there are good spirits as well?" Bryan was intrigued.

All of a sudden, he stopped in his footsteps and asked in surprise, "Andrew, you can communicate with them as well!?"

Andrew chuckled, "Well, very little. Currently, I am like a small child who has just started to learn their language. The further I advance, the more my affinity with the dead and the spirits will increase."

"I see." Bryan nodded his head.

He stroked his chin as he thought about the various Paths and all the strange and mysterious abilities that they offered to the Transcendents. He was truly fascinated by this.

While Bryan was lost in thought, Andrew patted his shoulder and then pointed to one of the tombstones in the distance, "Look!"

Bryan turned his gaze in the direction Andrew was pointing toward. He squinted his eyes as he replied, "Look at what? I don't see anything."

"Apply spiritual force to your eyes," Andrew instructed.

Bryan did as he was told. He gathered his spiritual force and covered his eyes with a thin layer of it. Then all of a sudden his vision changed. He could now more clearly see the energy particles in the air.

In the direction Andrew pointed toward, he could now see a little girl about five or six years old, sitting on top of the tombstone and staring at the moon.

Bryan gasped, "Is that…"

Andrew nodded his head and smiled, "Yes. That's a spirit!"

He then walked toward the tombstone where the little girl was sitting as he spoke, "Come, let's go say hi."

Bryan gulped nervously as he hurried behind Andrew.

The closer they got to the little girl, the more tense Bryan became. When they were just a few steps away from her, Bryan could finally see her clearly.

The little girl had chubby cheeks and a head full of black hair that was tied into two ponytails. She was wearing what appeared to be a school dress: a black skirt, white shirt, long white socks that reached her calves, and a pair of black shoes.

However, there was one thing that was particularly striking about her. There was no substance in her, she appeared to be slightly transparent! One could see right through her.

The nervousness and fright in Bryan's heart slowly dissipated and what replaced it was an overwhelming sense of pity.

'She's so young…' He thought inwardly as his heart grew heavy.

Andrew approached her slowly and crouched down beside her. He smiled faintly and asked the little girl, "Little one, what are you doing here?"

The little girl did not answer for a long time. She then turned her head and looked at Andrew, her eyes filled with confusion, "I-I don't know."

A hint of sadness flashed past Andrew's eyes but he still kept smiling as he continued to converse with her, "Do you wish to meet with your parents?"

The little girl tilted her head, "Parents?"

A few moments later, her eyes lit up as she got down from the tombstone and started jumping in joy in front of Andrew, "Yes yes! I miss my parents! Big brother, can you take me to them?"

Andrew smiled brightly, "Of course, little one!"

"Yay!!" The little girl ran around Andrew in joy as she started giggling continuously.

Bryan's eyes started to water as he saw this scene take place. For someone to die at such a young age was truly heartbreaking. What was sadder was the fact that the little girl wasn't even aware that she was dead.

He was always fascinated by the miracles in the Transcendent world. However, today was the first time that Bryan witnessed the darkness of it.

Andrew stretched his arm and said gently, "Here, hold my hand."

"Okay!" The little girl stood in front of the crouching Andrew and obediently put her hand in his.

The following moment, a white light shone from Andrew's hand and covered the little girl. Andrew smiled and whispered, "If there really is a next life, I pray that you grow up to be old and find happiness."

The little girl gradually turned more and more transparent until finally her spiritual body dispersed into motes of bright light and dissipated in the air.

Her parting words echoed around her tombstone, "Goodbye, big brother! And thank you!"